Sunday, May 24, 2015

Memorial Day and My Dad


My father was a Vietnam Veteran. Like many who served during this era, he was ambivalent about his service and was conflicted about war in general. To be honest he didn’t really speak of his time in the army. Almost all that I know about his time in Vietnam came from pictures of a cute younger version of my dad and short snippets that I heard from my mother and grandmother. I learned he was never in combat, but I took greater pride when my grandmother explained that my dad was too smart to be on the front lines, instead he worked with confidential documents. Unfortunately, I never did find out some of our country’s secrets from him J

This is my first Memorial Day without my dad. And just as we think about those men and women who gave their lives for their country on this day, I can’t help but think of my dad. I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and between barbeques and parties with friends, you give a thought to those important to you, whether they served in the military or not, whether they have passed away or are still with you.

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